Twenty-two Hamilton County senior basketball players were recognized as honorable mention Academic All-State for 2021 by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association on Wednesday.
Here is a list of the players receiving honorable mention:
BOYS: Vinny Buccilla, Hamilton Southeastern; Matthew Gillis, Guerin Catholic; Connor Gioia, Carmel; Matthew Jones, University; Daniel Keller, Guerin Catholic; Noah Linville, Hamilton Heights; John McCall, Hamilton Southeastern; Luke Naas, Westfield; Drew Pennington, Hamilton Heights; Dalton Retzner, Hamilton Southeastern; Jason Stutz, Hamilton Southeastern; Alex Totton, Hamilton Southeastern; Benji Welch, Westfield; Spencer Wilt, Guerin Catholic.
GIRLS: Erin Baker, Carmel; Bridget Dunn, Carmel; Audra Emmerson, Fishers; Katie Howard, Fishers; Mallory Miller, Noblesville; Riley Pennington, Carmel; Lydia Self, Hamilton Southeastern; Emily Wood, Noblesville.
The IBCA Academic All-State program is one where academic prowess and athletic prowess both are considered in the selections. Items such as grade-point average and academic class rank are considered along with athletic performance in areas such as points per game, rebounds per game and assists per game. In most years, college board scores also are considered. This year, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, some students not taking the SAT or ACT and some colleges not requiring those results, the IBCA waived its previous college board requirements.
“The quality of these student-athletes shows that success in academics and success in athletics are not separate entities,” Witty said. “Rather, in many cases, a player’s success in the classroom directly contributes to his or her success on the floor.”
IBCA-member head coaches from schools across the state may nominate their senior student-athletes who meet criteria that include a 3.5 GPA or higher on a 4.0 scale and a class rank in the upper 25 percent of one’s class. Traditionally, the IBCA has required an SAT score of 1,100 (on the reading and math sections) or an ACT composite score of 24 on the college boards, but, as mentioned earlier, those requirements were waived this year.
Once nominations were received, an IBCA committee reviewed the information and determined awards for first team and honorable mention.
Those selected will receive certificates from the IBCA for their honor. Certificates will be distributed to coaches or athletic directors sometime during April. The coach or athletic director then may present the certificates to the honored player or players from their school sometime before the conclusion of the 2020-21 academic year.
The IBCA has selected an Academic All-State team for boys since 1973. The program was expanded to include a girls’ Academic All-State team in 1980.
